Add a touch of tradition to your next tattoo with a private Sak Yat tattooing session in Bangkok.
So, you always wanted to get some ink, but were always unsure where to start. We hear you – with all the tramp stamps and bogan birthmarks out there, it’s hard to find a tattoo design that has real personal significance, that has a deeper meaning, and isn’t just something you can flash at the swim-up pool bar, on the next junk party, or at that topless CrossFit convention you were planning to attend.
If the designs of the ancient art of Sak Yat speak to you, you’re in luck. Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel has introduced private sacred tattoo sessions conducted by one of the City of Angels’ most famous Sak Yant masters, Ajarn Neng Onnut.
What is Sak Yant you might ask. A form of tattooing that traces its origins to the ancient Khmer empire, Sak Yant tattoos consist of sacred geometrical designs that depict animals and deities and often include Pali phrases designed to protect the bearer and bring good fortune.
Sak Yant tattoos, also referred to as ‘bamboo tattoos’, are expertly engraved into the skin entirely by hand using a traditional Khem Sak – a handcrafted metal rod designed to replicate the shape of a bamboo stick. Both the Khem Sak and the timeless technique of Sak Yant are passed down from master to master, so you can forget ankle butterflies or Calvin and Hobbes strips above the hips.
One of the world’s most ancient and sacred tattoo traditions, Sak Yant consists of almost 1,000 different graphic images, so you’ll have plenty to work with. Small symbols called Na start at US$800 and one line Yant incarnations from US$1,000, while the coveted Twin Tiger designs will cost you US$3,000.
You can also forget dodgy, neon-lit tattoo halls filled with regret – you’ll be marked in the comfort of a guest room at the luxurious Anantara Siam Bangkok, the only hotel in Thailand allowed to offer this private service, so no one will see you cry through the inevitable pain.
You’ll also be in good company; Ajarn Neng has inked Sak Yant tattoos on Hollywood actors including Ryan Phillippe; Jesse Bradford; and Brooke Shields (yes, she of your childhood bedroom ceiling).
We figure if it’s good enough for Brooke, is good enough for us.
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